Old Friends
by Writefromtheheart95
Summary: Seto Kaiba and Skylar Summers lived in the same orphanage, yet ended up on opposite ends of the financial spectrum. While Seto acquired a multi-billion dollar business, Skylar waits tables just to pay rent. When their paths cross again, Seto brings up a deal they made to each other as children, and Skylar agrees, however reluctantly, to become Mokuba's "nanny". Blueshipping sorta
1. Chapter 1

Well, here's the start of a new fanfiction. Hopefully, I'll finish this one. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Mokuba was having a bad day. He had failed his math test, forgotten the combination for his locker, taken a basketball to the face and to top it all off, the limo was late picking him up and it was raining outside. As the rain beat against the awning hanging above his head, he thought about how all he wanted to do was go home, change clothes and crawl into bed. With each passing minute he grew more and more impatient. He was so consumed with irritation that he almost didn't notice the girl waiting with him. In fact, he wouldn't have if it weren't for her familiar red hair that he happened to catch a glimpse of out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to get a better look at the girl. _Claire?_

She was exactly as he remembered her: fiery red hair, sparkling green eyes, and freckles dotting her face. _What is she doing here? _

"Claire?" he whispered. At first, he thought that she didn't hear him, however, she slowly lifted her head to meet his eyes. For a brief moment, she looked at him with a defeated expression. Once she recognized him, though, her face immediately brightened, and she jumped up, wrapping her arms around him in the biggest hug Mokuba had ever received in his life. "Mokuba!" she squealed with delight.

"It's good to she you too, Claire. But what are you doing here? I thought you and Skylar were traveling to world or something," he asked. Claire pulled back. "Skylar said that we couldn't anymore. She said that I needed to go to a real school and have real friends. So she brought me back here to live with my aunt. She's working as a waitress. She says that we'll have enough money to get a place of our own in a year."

"So you're going to school here now?" Mokuba asked. Claire nodded. "Yep. I guess that means we're classmates now. " She shot him one of her famous thousand watt smiles. He noticed that she didn't have that gap between her two front teeth anymore.

"Young Master Kaiba," a voice said behind Mokuba. Mokuba, startled, whirled around to see that it was only Roland. "My apologies for my tardiness. With the weather this bad, the traffic was terrible."

"It's alright, Roland," Mokuba reassured. Roland opened the door to let him in when he noticed Claire. "Will your friend be joining us, Young Master Kaiba?" Claire, still stunned by the fact that Mokuba was being picked up in a limo, could barely get a word out before Mokuba chimmed, "She sure is!" and pulled her into the limo.

"You… you own a limo?" she stuttered.

"A couple actually. And technically I don't own them. My brother does."  
"How did you guys become so rich?"

Mokuba flashed her a mischievous grin. "It's a long story. Wait till you see our house."

"Oh! I have to call Skylar and Aunt Rachel and tell them where I'm going."

"Good idea. You said that Skylar was coming to pick you up, right?"

"Yeah."

"Great! I'll have a car sent over to pick her up and bring her to the mansion. That way, Seto and I can catch up with you and Skylar."

Skylar thought that her shift would never end. She wasn't sure what it was about today, but everyone had been rude to her, and she barely had fifty dollars worth of tips in her pocket. She was just glad to be off work and couldn't wait to see her sister. She stepped outside and, realizing that she would have to walk to Domino City High School in the rain, groaned. _It's all for Claire, _she told herself.

As she stood in the rain trying to flag down a taxi, a limo pulled up to the restaurant. This wasn't particularly unusual. After all, Skylar did work at Domino's most elegant restaurant, The Red Lily. What was strange was that fact that the limo driver, instead of opening the door to let out a business executive, approached her. "Miss Summers?" he asked.

Skylar, puzzled, simply nodded. "Young Master Kaiba has requested your presence at Kaiba Manor. Your sister is already there." A stunned Skylar stared at him, mouth slightly agape. _How did he know we were here? _She was so shocked, she didn't even say anything she climbed into the limo.

As the city scene zoomed passed her, she was flooded with memories from the orphanage. _It's been so long… _Suddenly, she realized how pathetic she looked. _He's a big businessman now, and I'm dressed as a waitress. And, I'm soaking wet._ She did her best to fix her hair and make up, but there was no hope. Letting out a resigned sigh, she leaned back in her seat and waited to arrive, her dread increasing with each passing moment.

It had been a rough day for Seto. A business deal that he had worked on for months fell through, the investors were growing anxious, and he still couldn't work out the bugs in his new duel disk system. As much as he would have liked to push work aside for the evening and spend time with Mokuba, he knew he had to get a bunch of paperwork done. He took a few Advil in a futile attempt to get rid of the crippling migraine that he felt was about to take a hold of him as he sat in the back of the car the new driver, Sebastian, was driving.

When he finally got home, he was greeted by a sound he hadn't heard in the house in a while: laughter. Following the sound, he opened the door to the living room. "Mokuba, what have I told you about bringing friends…" He stopped midsentence as he noticed who was sitting on the couch next to Mokuba. "Claire?"

"Seto!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to hug him. Seto, not use to this amount of physical contact, but not wanting to upset Claire, simply patted her on the head. "I haven't seen you in ages!" she proclaimed.

"It has been a while," he commented.

"Can you believe it, Seto? Claire goes to my school now!"

Seto was shocked. _So if Claire's here, that must mean…_

Roland came into the room. "Young Master Kaiba, I have brought the older Ms. Summers here as you requested."

"Awesome! Send her in."

Roland stepped aside, revealing Skylar standing in the doorway. Her snow white hair was soaked. Mascara ran down her face from her deep blue eyes. She wore a wrinkled white blouse, a black pencil skirt, and a pair of black Mary Janes. "Skylar…" Seto whispered, not sure what he planned to say next. Skylar gave him a forced smile. "Hi, Seto."

"Skylar!" Mokuba bellowed witg excitement. "It's so awesome to see both of you! We haven't seen you guys since the day we were adopted."

"It has certainly been a long time. You both have changed so much," Seto mused.

"I could say the same for you," Skylar replied with a flat tone, though Seto sensed some other meaning behind her words.

"Guess what, Sky. Mokuba said that we could stay for dinner!"

Skylar crossed the room and took Claire's hand. "That's very generous of him, Claire, but I'm sure Seto is far too busy to entertain guests right now." She tried to pull Claire out of the room, but Seto stood in the doorway, blocking the sisters' path. "I always have time for old friends," he said with the same half-smile he had given her as a child. Their eyes met, and Seto not only forgot about his awful day, but the work he had waiting for him in his office. She said nothing as they continued to stare at each other. It was then that he noticed that she was shivering. "At least stay long enough to dry off.

Skylar turned her eyes toward the floor as her cheeks began to turn red. "Fine," she muttered. Seto called for his housekeeper, asking her to bring a towel and a cup of tea. Not five minutes later, she came in with a big, fluffy towel and a steaming cup of tea. She draped the towel over Skylar's shoulder and handed her the cup. Skylar said 'Thank you' and she left.

"Hey Claire, you wanna see the game room?" Mokuba asked.

"Would I!" Claire responded, and the two rushed out of the room, leaving Seto and Skylar alone in the living room. As Skylar avoided making eye contact with him, Seto piled logs up in the fireplace. He struck a match and placed it on top of the pile. "What brings you back to Domino?" he finally asked. Skylar sighed. "Claire needs a real school and a real home. There's only so much I can do for her."

Seto didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he spoke up again. "It's been eight years."

"I know."

"What have you been doing?"

Skylar shrugged. "A little bit of everything." Seto nodded. They sat silently again. "You stopped writing," she finally said.

"I know."

"I thought you had forgotten about us."

Seto let out a soft chuckle. "Trust me, Sky. I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to."

"Is that suppose to make me feel better?" she snapped. The fire cracked in the fireplace.

"You're not really mad at me," she stated. Skylar wished that she could deny it, but he was right. She wasn't mad at him.

"I wish. Being angry at you would have be so much easier than missing you ever was."

Seto turned to her, one hand in his pocket and the other extended out to her. Reluctantly, she took the hand he offered her, and her pulled her off of the couch and towards the fire. She sat on the ground in front of the fireplace and held out her arms, trying to warm herself up. "I'm guessing you two were never adopted."

"No. We ran away about four years ago. We've been jumping from town to town since then. That is, until the law finally caught up with us. They placed Claire with my Aunt Rachel."

"And where are you living now?"

Skylar suddenly stood up. "You know, Aunt Rachel is probably wondering where Claire is. I'd better bring her home." And with that, she turned and stormed out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Flashback time!

Chapter Two

"Wow Seto, you're really good at this!" Mokuba exclaimed. Seto had just won his fourth game of chest for the day. He smiled down at his little brother. "Yeah, I just hope that one day I can play against the pros."

Suddenly, Arthur Wilson came rushing into the room. "Did you hear? Some new kids are coming today." Seto and Mokuba looked at each other with curious looks on their faces. "Who are they?" Seto asked.

"Their sisters. I heard their parents were killed in a car wreck." The door opened behind them, and in came their teacher, Mrs. Carlton. "Kids, meet you're new foster sisters, Skylar and Claire Summers," she said with a kind smile. Seto looked behind her and saw two girls. One was very small and had bright red hair and green eyes. The other was taller and had white hair and blue eyes. There was something familiar about the older girl, but he couldn't quite place it.

Mokuba got up from his seat and approached the younger girl. "Hi, I'm Mokuba. It's nice to meet you." The red-haired girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She didn't say anything, just sniffled and let out a faint sob. "Hey, it's alright. You don't have to cry," Mokuba assured.

Seto looked at the older girl, who had her hands on the younger girl's shoulder. The white-haired girl simply sneered at him and tried and pull her sister away. "Come on Claire. Let's go." She pulled her into the next room and slammed the door shut.

"Geez, what's her problem?" Arthur questioned.

"Ah, give them a break. They're going through a rough time," Mokuba said.

"Aww right, cause their parents died? Big deal. We've all got dead parents. What makes them so special?"

"Lay off it, would ya?" Seto interjected. Arthur glared at Seto for a moment, but he was no match for Seto's icy stare. "Whatever man. I just hope the princesses don't get too comfy."

The next day, recess had begun and, as usual, Mokuba was sitting on the swing set alone while Seto played chess. He noticed the red-haired girl playing in the sandbox by herself. She was trying to make a sand castle, but she was having trouble getting it to stay up. Mokuba jumped off the swing and walked over to her. "Do you need any help?" he asked.

Claire looked up at him. "I can't get it to stay up," she whined.

"You have to make it wet. Here, let me get some water for you." He grabbed one of the buckets out of the sandbox and ran to the bathroom. He filled it up, then raced back outside, but when he came back, he noticed that a group of three boys had surrounded the sandbox. "Hey, look who it is. One for the princesses. Where's your snobby sister?" Arthur Wilson taunted.

"I… I don't know," Claire whimpered.

"What's with your hair, anyways? No one has hair that red. It must be fake," another boy, Carter, teased. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Aww look at that boys. The little princess is gonna cry." The other boys laughed, and Claire began to cry harder.

"Hey, shut up already!" the third boy, Kyle, yelled as he picked up a handful of sand and dumped it on Claire's head. She was bawling like crazy now.

"Hey, stop that!" Mokuba cried. The boys turned around. "Who's gonna make us, shrimp?" Mokuba threw the bucket of water onto Arthur. "Why you…" he sneered as he chased Mokuba around the corner. Soon, he came to a dead end. "What are you gonna do now?" Arthur sneered. Mokuba backed up until his back hit the wall. "Nowhere to run," Arthur said with a satisfied grin on his face. The boys came closer and closer. Mokuba was sweating now, wishing that his brother were there.

Just as Mokuba was preparing to get the pounding of his life, a dodge ball came flying out of nowhere and hit Arthur on the back of the head. The gang turned around to find Skylar standing there with another dodge ball in her hand.

Seto was intensely focused on his chess match. He was only a few moves away from winning, but he knew he had to concentrate. Just then, Regina Myers came sprinting into the room. "Seto! Arthur and the others are after Mokuba again!" she cried. Seto stood up immediately and rushed towards the door. "Hey!" his opponent, Matthew Jackson yelled. "If you leave, you forfeit!"

Seto paid no mind to Matthew. Instead, he focused all of his energy on finding his brother and teaching Arthur a lesson. He ran towards the playground and immediately noticed the group of kids making a circle around something he couldn't see. He shoved his way to the front of the crowd and was stunned by what he saw.

Skylar stood facing Arthur and his thugs with one hand on her hip and the other holding a dodge ball. Seto noticed Mokuba behind them with his back against the wall.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she mocked.

"If you think that I'm afraid to hit a girl, I'm not!" Arthur proclaimed.

"Good. Cuz I'm not afraid to hit a boy." She dropped the dodge ball to the ground and delivered the most powerful kick Seto had ever seen on it. The ball flew through the air and hit Arthur square in the face, knocking him to the ground. The other boys blinked, trying to make sense of what they just saw. Seto was also finding it hard to process.

"Anybody else want some?" she yelled. The boys shook their heads furiously and ran off. The crowd of children cheered, happy to see the boys finally put in their place.

Seto approached Skylar. "How did you do that?" he asked. She simply shrugged her shoulders. "It's a gift," was all she said.

Mokuba ran up to them. "Thanks for helping me!"

"Well, you stood up for my sister, so I figured I owed you one," she said with a smile. Mokuba gave her a big hug, then ran back inside.

"So um… thanks for helping my brother back there," Seto mumbled. He didn't like admitting that he couldn't always protect his brother. The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" he asked.

"I'll watch over your brother when you're not around, and you'll watch over my sister when I'm not around. Deal?"

Seto thought about it for a moment. Since he didn't see anything wrong with the arrangement, he decided to agree to it. "Alright. Deal." The two shook hands. "Great. Well, I guess I'll see you around," she said as she ran off.

"Wait!" Seto called out. She turned around. "What if we're both there?" he asked. She smiled. "Then we'll watch over them together!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Four o'clock was usually very slow hour at the Red Lily. When Skylar first began working there, she wondered why they even bothered opening so early. One the waiters told her that it was because the owner, Patrick Snyder, hated his wife, and always wanted to open as soon as possible in order to get away from her. To Skylar, this theory was preferable to the sous chef's theory that the place was simply a front for the mob. In any case, Skylar wandered around the restaurant, bored to tears, trying to find something to do before the dinner shift.

"Hey there, sexy," a nauseating voice hissed in her ear. Skylar whirled around to discover that Patrick's son, Nathan Snyder, was standing behind her with a wanton look on his face. "Oh, hi Mr. Snyder. What are you doing here?" she stuttered as she scanned the room for an excuse to get away from him.

"My dad asked me to do some inventory. I'll need you to unlock the freezer for me." Skylar was skeptical of his story. Nathan usually only came to the restaurant when he had some girl he wanted to impress (it was never the same girl). But, if it got Nathan out of her hair, she figured it wouldn't hurt. "Fine. Come with me."

As Skylar led Nathan to the back of the kitchen, she felt his gaze going up and down her body. She tried to ignore the feeling of violation as she took out her keys to unlock the freezer. Opening the door, she gestured inside and said, "Well, there you-"

Nathan pushed her into the freezer and stepped in after her, closing the door behind him.

"What the hell?" she panted, her breath knocked out of her. He put his hands on her shoulders, pinned her against the back wall, and roughly kissed her. Skylar tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. Finally, she handed a kick right in between his legs. He crumpled to the ground writhing in pain. As she bolted out of the freezer, she vaguely heard the words, "You're fired!" echo through the building.

It was raining again, but Skylar hardly noticed it as she made her way to her tiny, run-down apartment on the other side of town. Normally, she would take the subway back home, but she was too distracted to think about getting home. The more she walked, the heavier the thought of what had just happened weighed on her. _This was my last chance. I'll never get Claire back now._

Hopelessness drowned out all of her senses. By some ominous fate, however, someone's voice was able to penetrate the force field of grief. She turned towards the street and saw a sleek, black limo with a familiar figure leaning against it with an umbrella in his hand.

"Seto?" she whispered in a choked voice. He nodded and held out the umbrella. "I'm beginning to think you don't own one. This is the second time I've found you soaking wet." Skylar turned her face away from him in shame. She didn't want him to she her cry.

"Isn't it a little early for you to be getting off of work?" he asked.

"I don't work there anymore," she stated curtly. Seto immediately understood what she meant and didn't push the subject. He looked her up and down trying to garner more information about what happened. "What happened to your leg?"

Skylar glanced down at her leg and noticed some blood. _I must have cut it in the freezer. _"It's nothing," she muttered. Seto opened the limo door. "Get in."

"No, I'm fine re…"

"Don't argue with me. Just get in." It might have just been her imagination, but she could have sworn that she heard some concern hidden beneath the harshness of his words. She nodded and stepped inside the limo with Seto following her. He opened the privacy screen and something to the driver that Skylar couldn't hear. The driver handed him a small white box. Seto opened it and took out a roll of gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "This might sting a little," he said as he wet a paper towel with some of the alcohol and gentle placed it over her wound. Skylar felt so numb, she didn't even flinch, though she thought it was strange that he was taking care of her like this. She had heard rumors that the infamous Seto Kaiba cared for no one except his brother.

Once he was done wrapping her wound, Skylar put her hand on the handle. "Thank you for helping me, but I really have to get home…" She felt his hand cover her own. "I'll take you home." It wasn't a question.

As much as her pride hated this idea, but she was so drained, she didn't have the energy to argue, so she simply pulled away.

Skylar told the driver where she lived and he pulled away from the curb. They sat in silence for a while. Seto was the one to break the silence.

"So, I'm assuming you're out of work." Skylar nodded. "Well, it just so happens that I've been looking for some help." She turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "I'm not home a whole lot and Mokuba is a very… social child. I need someone to be there for him when I cannot."  
"Isn't Mokuba a little too old for a nanny?"

"True, but I believe that we made a deal quite a few years ago," he said with a smirk on his face.

"What are you…" she began, but then she remembered. "Oh. That."

"You will, of course, have to live in the mansion…" She was about to object, but Seto held a hand up. "I realize you feel like you would be depending on me, but I'm sure you would be willing to sacrifice a little bit of pride in order to be close to Claire."

"You mean…"

"Yes. Claire's moving in too."

Skylar considered his offer. Depending on Seto was not what she had in mind, but she didn't really have a choice if she wanted to be near her sister.

"Fine. I'll do it."

He smirked. "Very well. You start Monady."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Skylar and Claire stood outside the Kaiba Mansion, each holding a suitcase. The girls shivered as an autumn breeze blew through their hair. _What am I getting myself into? _Skylar thought as the butler escorted them into the house. She glanced at Claire and saw the look of pure excitement on her face. _At least she's enjoying herself._

The butler led them down a long hallway. The decorations were elegant, yet simple. _He always did have good taste._

The butler finally opened a door. "This will be the Young Ms. Summers room," he announced. Claire ran into the room, dropped her suitcase, and threw herself onto the queen-sized bed. "Look at this room, Skylar! Isn't it awesome?"

"It's certainly big," she responded as she surveyed the room. Claire had everything she needed: nightstands, bookcases, a dresser, a vanity, even her own bathroom. It seemed a bit too lavish for the help and her sister, but she didn't want to be rude, she decided not to say anything.

He closed the door, and continued down the hallway. He opened another door and gestured for Skylar to go in. She stepped into the room and placed her suitcase on the ground. The room was absolutely gorgeous. The deep purple color of the walls, the orange decorative pillows on the bed, and the golden color of the curtains reminded her of the sun setting on a summer's day. Despite the elaborate décor, the room felt homey and inviting. She sat down on the bed and felt the soft, silk comforter underneath her fingertips. _Maybe this won't be so bad. I'll get to experience the good life, even if it's only for a little while._

"Do you like the room?" Skylar jumped a bit before she noticed Seto standing in the doorway. He was wearing a bright white business suit with a blue tie, looking professional as ever. Skylar stood up and tried to make herself look more presentable, though that was difficult since she was wearing a flimsy cotton tank top and a torn up pair of jeans. "The room is great. Your interior decorator outdid himself."

Seto smirked. "Why thank you," he mused. Skylar raised an eyebrow. "You designed this?"

"I've never liked the idea of someone else deciding what my house will look like. Everything was designed by me."

Skylar chuckled, and Seto frowned. "What?" he questioned.

"Who knew that the stern and serious Seto Kaiba had such an eye for design?" she commented. Seto simply shrugged. "There are a lot of things the media doesn't know about me."

"I know," she said with a warm smile. Seto glanced her way with a look in his eyes that Skylar couldn't quite place. He turned back towards the door. "I hope you're comfortable here. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask one of the maids or the butler, Simon. Dinner is at seven." And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving her alone.

Skylar thought it was a bit odd for the nanny and her sister to eat with the boss and his brother, but Mokuba explained it to her beforehand. "You're not just the help. You're our friends." So the four sat at the long, mahogany table eating Chicken Cordon Bleu. While Mokuba and Claire Talked and laughed nonstop, Skylar watched them with a smile on her face, and Seto appeared to be reading the newspaper, barely touching his food.

Unbeknownst to Skylar, though, Seto was not actually reading the newspaper. He was constantly peering over the top to look at her. He wasn't quite sure why he kept glancing on her, but no matter how hard he tried to concentrate on the paper, he simply couldn't. Studying every detail of her figure, he noticed some things that were different about her. There was a scar on her right wrist and a quote that Seto couldn't quite make out tattooed on the back of her neck. They were little things, but, to Seto, they were things that told the story of what her life was like after he left the orphanage. As much as he wanted to know about it, he didn't want to pry. He understood more than anyone the need for privacy.

Once everyone was done eating, the maids took the plates away and the diners moved to the parlor. Mokuba and Claire drank hot chocolate, Skylar drank decaf coffee, and Seto drank Scotch. "You sure you don't want a drink?" he asked Skylar.

"I'm fine, thank you." Skylar still felt a little awkward about living in her old friend's house as his employee, and how casual their relationship seemed to be. Seto picked up on this and sat down next to her. "You don't have to be so formal with me, you know." Skylar turned away, hoping that he hadn't seen her cheeks turn red. She glanced over at the kids and realized that they were too busy catching up to notice what was going on between them. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulder and had to fight the urge to shake him off. "You've always been stubborn."

"I'm the stubborn one?" she laughed, feeling slightly more at ease. Seto smirked and stood up. "I have some work to get done. Make sure those two get to bed at a decent hour." She nodded and walked out of the room.

The next day was Skylar's first official day of working for Seto Kaiba. She woke up the two high schoolers, made them breakfast, then sent them off to school. This was the first time that it occurred to her that, without the kids around, she didn't really have anything to do all day. _Well, what now? _she thought. After a few moments of going over her options, she decided on going to the mall and looking for some new clothes. She was tired of looking like some homeless transient.

The mall was relatively empty, so she was looking forward to shopping in peace. She didn't have a whole lot of money with her, but she had enough to buy a few decent outfits. She picked out a store and began browsing the racks.

As she was shopping, someone bumped into her. "Oh, I'm sorry," a friendly voice apologized. Skylar turned around and saw a girl who seemed a bit younger than herself, with short brown hair and blue eyes wearing a uniform that looked like the one Claire wore to school. "It's alright. No harm done," Skylar said. She tried to turn back around and go back to her shopping, but the girl held out her hand and said, "I'm Tea."

"Skylar," she introduced herself. _This Tea chick seems very… friendly. _Tea enthusiastically shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Skylar. Say, where do you go to school? I've never seen you around Domino High."

"I don't go to school. I dropped out."

"Oh," was all she said.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, but I'd better get back…"

"Hey guys! Over here!" Tea called out as she waved her arms over her head. Skylar turned around and saw a group of boys all dressed in school uniforms similar to what Mokuba wore. Two of them were blonde, though one was significantly taller than the other. One of them had brown hair that was styled into some strange spike thing. The last boy had long, black hair and green eyes. They ran over to the two girls. "Hey Tea, what's…" The taller blonde boy stopped, noticing Skylar. His whole demeanor changed as he stood up straighter and tried to fix his hair. "Well, hey there. What's your name?" he said with some big, goofy grin on his face. At that poin the black-haired boy stepped between him and Skylar. "Why don't you leave the poor girl alone. I'm sure she doesn't want to have anything to do with some shaggy-haired puppy dog."

"Oh, and you think you're so much better, Dice Boy?" the tall blonde challenged.

"Cut it out you guys. You're making her uncomfortable," the shorter blonde boy said.

" Yeah, you guys are just embarrassing yourselves," the brown-haired boy mocked.

Tea turned to Skylar. "Sorry about them. They can be a bit… much."

"It's okay, really. I'm sure they're very entertaining." The girls laughed.

"Hey, what are you two laughing about?" the tall blonde asked.

"You know, I completely forgot to introduce you to the guys.'

"We can introduce ourselves Tea. I'm Joey," the tall blonde said.

"I'm Duke," said the black-haired boy.

"I'm Yugi," said the short blonde boy.

"And I'm Tristin," the brown-haired boy finished.

"It's very nice to meet all of you." Despite her natural shyness, Skylar found herself warming up to the group quickly. Sure, they seemed a bit goofy, but she could get use to it.

"Say, Skylar, you wanna join us for lunch? The food court here is pretty good."

Skylar thought about it for a moment. "Wait a minute, aren't you guys suppose to be in school?"

"Ah, what's the harm in skipping a day?" Joey commented. Skylar shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure, why not?" and the group went off to enjoy a carefree afternoon together.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Boo!" Mokuba yelled from behind Claire, trying to make her scream. Instead, she jumped and elbowed him in the chest. "Wow! That hurt…" Mokuba whined.

"Well, you shouldn't scare me like that," Claire pouted.

"Play nice, you two, or no Halloween party," Skylar scolded. The kids simultaneously straightened up and saluted her. "Yes, ma'am!" they shouted in unison. Skylar just giggled and went back to sewing Claire's costume. She had already done Mokuba's, surprising even herself at her craftsmanship. He decided he wanted to be a Kuriboh this year, so Skylar made him a suit covered in brown fur and a pair of gloves and shoe covers to look like Kuriboh's hands and feet. Claire had settled on Vampire Lady. Skylar was currently in the process of sewing her purple dress.

"Why are you both going as Duel Monsters again?" Skylar asked.

"That's the theme of Wes Jenkins' party." She nodded in understanding. She was surprised to learn that Mokuba and Claire had been invited to a party. Despite being very wealthy, Mokuba wasn't very popular at school. Skylar believed that this was due to Mokuba's… sensitivity. Claire was even worse off. Being the new girl and having such unusual hair made her stand out, and not in a good way. She was teased everyday, but she never complained about it. She was certainly a trooper.

"Hey Claire, wanna go play Call of Duty?" Mokuba asked.

"Heck yeah! Just don't start crying when I beat you!" she shouted as they ran out of the room. Skylar chuckled, then went back to her work.

Once she was finally finished, she hung the dress up and cleaned up her mess. Claire poked her head inside the room. "Is it ready?" she asked with anticipation.

"Yes, it is. Why don't you try it on?" Claire grabbed the dress and ran to the bathroom at full speed. A few minutes later, she came back sporting the new dress. "How does it look?" Claire asked as she posed. Skylar giggled. "It looks great. You should go show Mokuba."

"Great idea!" Claire exclaimed as she dashed out of the room. Skylar smiled. It had been a while since her sister could simply be a kid and enjoy herself. She was glad that she could see her sister's smiling face again.

"Bye Skylar!" Mokuba yelled from the limo.

"Bye Sis!" Claire cried.

"Bye! Make sure you're home by eleven!" Skylar watched the limo pull out of the long driveway, then closed the door. _I'm goona be alone all night. Oh, goodie. _She sighed then went up to her room to change into her pajamas. _I guess I'll just have a movie night by myself, _she thought as she pulled on a worn out tank top and a pair of pajama pants.

After going to the kitchen to make some popcorn, she made her way to the rec room, situated herself on the couch, and turned on the TV. As she flipped through the channels, she realized that most of the movies were horror movies. _Well, they're not my favorite, but it'll do. _She finally settled on some old slasher flick. _Oh, man. Now I remember why I don't like horror movies._

Kaiba was relieved to be able to get home early. He had had a long week and needed some time to relax. He got into the limo and thought about what he would do when he got home. He wished that he could spend time with Mokuba, but he knew that he was going to a Halloween party with Claire. _Guess that means it'll just be me and Skylar. _

Kaiba found this to be unusually inviting. Mokuba was normally the only one he could stand being alone with, but he realized that Skylar was one of the few people he actually liked. Plus, he might be able to find out what she had been doing all these years. He knew she was a very private person, but he _had _to know. Judging by the state he had found her in, he guessed that she had it pretty rough.

The limo pulled up to the mansion and Kaiba quickly stepped out. It took he a few minutes to find Skylar, but he finally heard the sound of the TV coming from the rec room. He peeked inside to make sure she was there.

She sat on the couch with a blanket around her shoulders. He Kabia frowned, noticing that her body seemed tense. "Skylar?" he whispered. She jumped off the couch and let out a frightened scream. When she finally turned around, she saw him and her face turned red. "You scared me! I thought you'd be working all night." she cried.

"You're sure jumpy," he commented.

"Bite me," she snapped.

Kaiba finally noticed what she was watching. "Don't like horror movies, huh?" Skylar frowned and turned even redder. "No, not really…" she muttered so softly, Kaiba barely heard her.

"Well then, do you mind if I join you?"

"Do what you want," she pouted as she continued watching the movie. He sat down next to her and noticed the look on the look on her face. _Great. Now she's mad at me. _As the movie played on, however, she seemed to forget about being angry and began to tense up again. The louder the ominous background music played, the tight she pulled the blanket around her. "If you don't like this movie, why don't you watch something else?" Kaiba asked.

"Cuz there's nothing else on, and I have no idea where the DVDs are," she grumbled.

"Were you always so irritable?"

"Were you always so patronizing?"

"Is it that time of the month for you or something?" Skylar shot him a furious look, stood up, and started to leave before Kaiba grabbed her hand. "Wait, don't go. I'm sorry." Skylar examined his face, as if to determine whether or not he was actually sorry. Then, her expression softened, and she sat back down. "You know, this isn't the man I was expecting," she mused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I've heard about the kind of person you've become. People have called you cold, cruel and heartless. I heard stories about you firing people just because they printed something out on the wrong kind of paper. When you hired me, I was expecting to be fired by the end of the month."

"I only fire morons," he explained. Skylar laughed softly. "Wow Seto. That was almost a compliment," she joked. She smiled at him and turned her attention back to the movie.

"Mokuba says you've spent the past few years traveling," Kaiba said. Skylar turned back to him. "Yes, we traveled quite a bit. We went all over the place."

"Why did you come back?" he asked.

"Claire needed a steady home. It wasn't fair to her, running around the world, not knowing where our next meal was coming from. She had to go to school, make friends, have someone who could take care of her…" she trailed off a bit.

"How long have you been back?"

Skylar looked Kaiba straight in the eye. "Look Seto, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to find out about my past. The truth is, after Claire and I ran away from the orphanage, I did a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I don't care if you want to know, but please don't make me be the one to have to tell you." Kaiba simply stared at her, shocked. _What could she possibly have done that she's so ashamed of?_

He was about to ask her what she meant when his cellphone rang. He stood up, walked out of the room and answered it. "What is it?" he snapped.

"Is this Mr. Kaiba?" an artificially calm voice asked him.

"Of course it is!"

"Your brother, Mokuba Kaiba, is here at Domino General Hospital with a young woman named Claire Summers."

"What happened?" Kaiba demanded.

"He's been in an accident. I would suggest you get down here right away, sir."


End file.
